This invention relates to a process for removing sulfur or sulfur compounds from fluid streams. In another aspect, this invention relates to a composition suitable for use in such process. In yet another aspect, this invention relates to a method for making a composition and the composition thereof suitable for use in a process for removing sulfur compounds from fluid streams.
The removal of sulfur from fluid steams can be desirable or necessary for a variety of reasons. If the fluid stream is to be released as a waste stream, removal of sulfur from the fluid stream can be necessary to meet any sulfur emission requirements that may be set by various air pollution control authorities. Such sulfur emission requirements are generally in the range of from about 10 ppm to about 500 ppm of sulfur in the fluid stream. If the fluid stream is to be burned as a fuel, removal of sulfur from the fluid stream can be necessary to prevent environmental pollution. If the fluid stream is to be processed, removal of the sulfur is often necessary to prevent the poisoning of sulfur sensitive catalyst or to satisfy other process requirements.
Various absorption compositions have been used to remove sulfur from fluid streams when the sulfur is present as hydrogen sulfide (H.sub.2 S). Of those materials proposed as a sulfur absorbents, many do not have the desirable properties necessary for being effective, commercially viable absorbing materials. In order for an absorbent composition to be commercially useable, it must have a high sulfur-absorption capacity and it must be capable of efficiently removing significant amounts of sulfur from fluid streams contaminated with sulfur or sulfur compounds. It has been found that many of these absorbing compositions effectively oxidize significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide to sulfur dioxide with the resulting sulfur dioxide thereafter passing unabsorbed through the contact material along with the effluent fluid stream. This phenomenon is sometimes called sulfur slippage. It is desirable to have an absorption material that not only has a high capacity to absorb sulfur from a fluid stream, but also, minimizes the amount of sulfur slippage.